FemmeFocus Junction

 This book caught my eye in the public library in May. I was very excited because it is dedicated to mothers! We are all in the Mother’s Day hype. The book offers a contemporary look at a mother and her adult daughter’s relationship. The daughter is an only child in her late thirties, she is in the marketing business. She is divorced with no children. She is not into glamour brands and cosmetics. The little that she knows is through her marketing job. Her father passed away a couple of years ago from pancreatic cancer. Her mother is a very well-known and busy obstetrician and gynecologist. She is in her sixties, she makes good money and also spends it well. Full skincare routine, make-up, glamour, branded clothes, shoes, and handbags.  The book gives a brief background of how the daughter has been traumatized by her mother’s critical behaviour and has chosen to me to be more withdrawn and hide her opinions. Another factor that came up that traumatized her in her adult life was...

 Reflecting on my motherhood journey, I can't believe that my little one is two and a half years old! I was looking at my graduation pictures from April 2022 when I was 12 weeks pregnant, and I realized how much I have changed. The beautiful long hair is gone, I have put on more weight and have more wrinkles on my face. I thought going through specialist training and long hours of work makes us age faster, but the burden of responsibility of looking after another baby is worse. With all the running around and sleepless nights.  She is tall and beautiful. Her speech is starting with a bit of delay but we are getting there. Her new words and phrases are teacher, I'm talking, no George, daddy pig, orange. She calls my husband’s mother Auma, my mother FaFa which is short for Fariba!  Potty training attempts have not been successful. She sits on the potty but with her clothes on and refuses to take out her pants. She has become more aware of her nappy and last week when she ma...

  I would like to explain how my days look as a full time working mother. Aryana usually goes to school three days a week which is Monday to Thursday. The rest of the week or the weekends she stays by my mother. I am up by 5am, shower and get ready by 5:45. I always make toast or muesli and yogurt which I eat while driving. I also make tea for the road. When I am ready wake Aryana up, change her nappy, dress her and we leave the house by 6:20. She is in school in 10 minutes and I drive to work. The drive in traffic takes me approximately an hour.  I work in an Academic Hospital, so every morning our registrars present their admissions in the morning meeting. All the consultants usually pull a straight face and ask random questions. Last week Wednesday I was covering the labour ward. After the meeting we attended the handover in the high care and labour ward. After that we did a ward round to see the patients in the antenatal ward. I usually take a little lunch break before the...

My mother and I are very close. We see each other almost daily since we stay in the same complex. As a daughter I grew up witnessing my mother’s sadness, loneliness, and struggles raising us. My father worked out of town most weeks, and he had no clue how we were raised. All the school drop-offs, illnesses, good days, bad days, homework, etc. My mother had to do it all on her own, with a bit of support from her parents. Her role as a homemaker was very underrated by Dad.  My father’s financial support was there to pay for the groceries and school fees. But I give the credit to my mom. Me and my brother are who we are because of her sacrifices. Her marriage was not an easy journey.  I chose to be a career woman. I wanted control and financial independence. I wanted to feel that I do not stay in an unhappy partnership because I have nowhere to go, or I will die of starvation. I just love to get up and go out and explore something new every day and have a legacy other than being ...